CityView Magazine

22 | March 2020 MaRch Madness Memories All these years later, they still remember the shots that went in, the ones that didn't and all the rest of the magic that comes with March Madness and the Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Tournament. And like the hometown players who shared their favorite ACC Tournament memories, we can't wait for the games to begin. From 1983 to 1991, Fayetteville was home to the ACC Women's Tournament, which took place in the old Cumberland County Memorial Arena. T he annual Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball tournament returns to the Greensboro Coliseum March 10-14. e tournament rotates venues, but Greensboro has hosted the event 27 times and has produced many unforgettable moments. But for Dr. Joe Quigg, N.C. State's Reynolds Coliseum in 1957 was the site of his favorite memory of the tournament. Quigg, now a retired dentist, would go on that year to sink two free throws with six seconds remaining in the national championship game to seal the win for his North Carolina Tar Heels, who finished 32-0. But if not for a frantic win over nemesis Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament semifinals, the Tar Heels wouldn't have had a shot at that national title. Back then, only the winner of the conference tournament earned the bid to the NCAA Tournament. In 1956, in fact, the Tar Heels had finished tied for first in the regular season but saw their season end in a loss to Wake in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. ey were determined not to let that happen again in 1957. "We were down by a point with a minute remaining and the ball went into Rosenbluth," Quigg recalls of teammate and UNC leading scorer Lennie Rosenbluth. "e ball went up, a hook shot, and he collided with a Wake player." e shot went in, the Wake player was called for the foul and UNC went on to win, 61-59. T his year, the ACC Women's Tournament is scheduled for March 5-8 in the Greensboro Coliseum. But from 1983 to 1991, Fayetteville was home to the event, which took place in the old Cumberland County Memorial Arena. It was in the 1986 tournament semifinals that Wake Forest junior Amy Privette hit an 18-foot jump shot with a second le to give her team a 72-71 upset victory over Duke. Amy Privette Perko is now chief executive officer of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, lives in Fayetteville, and has two daughters who share their mother's love of athletics. Perko would go on to be named to the Wake Forest Hall of Fame in 2000, but that game in 1986 will stay with her forever. "As a kid, I always dreamed about playing in the ACC Tourney, so to play in the tourney and hit a big shot for our program was an amazing experience," Perko said. "I also remember a true act of sportsmanship aer the excitement subsided when Duke's coach Debbie Leonard congratulated me and told me that it was a moment I would never forget. She was right." Amy Privette Perko Dr. Joe Quigg

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